Angel: Hey guys, sorry I've been radio silent. I've been both working on other projects and finals at the same time. But luckily, soon my classes will end, and I'll have more time to post stuff. Although I won't post until late most of the time because I still have to go to work. I will upload again most likely on Tuesday, so I will work on uploading faster for this story in particular. Because I do have those other projects I wanna get to.
Also, I got someone asking about Watership Down and uh...no? I haven't even seen it and I don't want to, I've heard many things about it, so I have to respectfully decline that one. Plus there are like three animated adaptations of it even if I were to force myself to watch the film. There's one film and two TV shows, and I've seen none. I can say this at least: it's the first time I've heard someone ask me to write that.
Out in the school courtyard, Tamiya is telling Milly about her argument with her mom about her clothing. "And so my mom says 'I'm not gonna let you go out dressed like that.' And then she says 'Just look at your t-shirt, you see your navel.' Well, you know me, I tell her 'Listen Mom, everyone dresses like that. It's the latest style.' So then she says-"
"Hold on a second," Milly interrupts her, holding up a finger as she looks to the side. "It's Ulrich." They can see him walking with Yumi, Odd, and Amy. "Just look at him. Oh, how can anybody be that handsome?"
Sissi turns around and sees the two girls ogling him. She then approaches them from behind. "Hello, little ones. Aren't you a bit wet behind the ears to be looking at boys? I don't believe it, look at yourselves," She places her hands on her hips as she continues insulting them. "You've even got a drop of milk from your bottle on your cheek.'
Tamiya wipes her chin with her sleeve, earning a laugh from Nicolas. "She believed you, Sissi. Not only is she a baby, but she's also dumb."
"Hey Nicolas, you should defend her, not insult her. You dumbbells oughta stick together," She then turns back to the duo. "Besides, girls, you're setting your sights much too high. Ulrich's way out of your league. Why don't you just go back to your dolls and stop dreaming?"
"Oh, yeah?" Milly argues back, hands on her hips. "You think that just because you're a few years older and like a snob, all you have to do is snap your fingers and he'll come running, huh?" She already knows that Ulrich would never go for Sissi, it's basically common knowledge. Plus she's seen it herself how much he cares about Sissi since he asked Milly to the prom and not her.
"I don't think, I know," Sissi brags to her. "There isn't a boy in school who isn't dying to go out with me. Stick around and learn." They turn around to the four approaching them. "Hi, how are you?"
"Well, what do you know? It's Ms. Conceited in person," Odd gives a smug smirk.
"Nobody asked you, creep!" Sissi snaps at him.
"Look, we don't need to take this from you," Amy gives her a blank look. "And Milly and Tamiya don't need to take your snobbish attitude either."
The girls look happy for Amy standing up to them and Sissi growls. Meanwhile, her friends look proud of her. "I'm not talking to you either!" She then smiles sweetly at Ulrich. "So, Ulrich, when are you gonna stop being so shy and finally tell me how you feel about me, huh?"
Amy snorts in laughter to herself, biting her lip to keep herself from busting out laughing. "You're wrong, I'm not shy. Not at all, I'm just allergic to anyone who's stuck up. And in that category, you win hands down." Everyone laughs at his remark except Sissi, who glares at her two friends to stop it. She then turns back to Ulrich, annoyed.
"I'll bet she's been telling you how nobody can resist her charm. She's right too, just take a look at the two nobodies she's always hanging around with," Odd points out and Nicolas steps forward to fight him. Sissi puts a hand in front of him.
"Take it easy," She warns, all of them glaring.
"Wow, you oughta be a dog trainer when you grow up," Ulrich replies playfully at this.
"Go on, laugh all you want. Show your friends how clever you are. But I see the way you look at me when they're not around," She says confidently and storms off with Nicolas and Herb. Amy turns to everyone else, pointing her open mouth as she gags, earning laughter from the others.
"I think she's hallucinating," Ulrich deadpans at her, Yumi giving him a quick look. Something about it just seems weird. She had no idea whether or not she could believe anything Sissi just said. After all, she's known Ulrich longer than Yumi has.
"Oh no! Speaking of dogs, I have to go and feed Kiwi," Odd reminds himself as he hasn't done so yet.
"I gotta feed Kiki too," Amy facepalms at his statement.
"I'll go with you," Ulrich offers as he's about to leave with them. "Wanna come, huh, Yumi?" He turns to the Japanese girl.
"I'll see you later, I promised Jeremy I'd stop by and see him," She gives a small wave.
"Hey Ames!" Amy looks at Odd as Ulrich runs off to catch up with the duo. "Can I feed Kiki? Pleeeeease?"
"Okay, okay," She laughs in amusement. "Not that she'll mind, you've really grown on her."
Odd smiles proudly since he does love animals, so it wasn't too far of a stretch to win over Amy's dog.
"Who is Kiki?" Ulrich couldn't help but ask, a little confused.
"Oh, my dog," Amy gestures to herself with a smile. "Odd met her the night Jeremy gave himself detention on the holiday. She can be a bit hesitant with new people, but once you get to know her, she's really friendly."
"As long as she's nothing like Kiwi, I'll take it!" Ulrich jokes, earning a pout from Odd.
"Anyway, like dog like owner," Odd winks at the brunette and she raises a brow. He then flinches as he realizes that could've come off like an insult. "Uh, wait, that came out wrong. You're not a dog, I just mean that you're both so alike and I'm gonna stop talking now."
"Um, okay?" She asks in bewilderment, wondering what any of that was supposed to mean. "I'll just take the lead, then," She walks ahead of them, as she tries to process what he told her. Odd groans a bit as he sags his shoulders.
"Nice going, ha," Ulrich chuckles at him and he grunts.
Jeremy types on the computer in his room when a knock is heard at his door. Yumi peeks her head in. "Jeremy?"
"Hi, Yumi. Come in," He greets and she closes the door behind her. She approaches the desk.
"What are you doing?" She leans against it, glancing at his computer for a sneak peek.
"I'm working on a new program," He explains to his friend. "A sort of catastrophe alarm system. The idea is to rate non-natural disasters on a scale of one to ten. And once I've got it finished, I'm going to get it onto every website or information network if you like. And any time the system registers a disaster that rates higher than five, it automatically informs me."
"And then what?" Yumi asks as out of all of the friends, she understands Jeremy's 'Einstein' talk the most, with Amy a close second. Mainly because she studies a lot.
"It's the surest way for me to identify a possible XANA attack."
"Wow, that's cool," She looks away with a smile, but he could tell she was thinking about something.
"What's on your mind?" He turns to her with a knowing grin.
"Well, it's...it's Ulrich. I wonder...do you think he likes Sissi?"
"Sissi?! You're kidding," He places his hands behind his head, looking amused. "Come on. You know, I've never would have believed it, but you're really jealous, aren't you?"
"What? You're kidding," She immediately denies, although it was true. "How could you think for a minute that I could be jealous of that dimwit? That is ridiculous!" She looks up ahead, unable to see to him that she basically confirmed it.
Odd and Amy look at their dogs enjoying their food. "Hey, eat a little slower, guys, will ya? You look like Nicolas in the lunchroom!" Ulrich laughs at how fast they're eating.
"Don't insult our dogs, alright? Kiwi's manners are ten times better than that sloppy airhead," Odd chuckles, looking at Amy as she pets Kiki. "Um, sorry I was being weird earlier, Ames. I was just trying to say that you're both cool, you know?"
"I'm not as cool as you say I am, but thanks," She rubs her neck bashfully, smiling at him. He returns it and Ulrich smirks to himself as he could see a little something going on with them. He then holds up his phone.
"I got a great idea that might be fun. What do you say we take our friend Sissi down a peg or two?"
"There's nothing in the world I would rather do," Odd agrees with a playful look. "What's your idea, huh?"
"Yeah, we're all ears," Amy looks up at him while Kiki puts two paws on her knees, panting up at her owner.
Sissi adjusts her hair in her room while her phone beeps. She pulls it up to see what it is. "A message. 'You're the fairest of them all, I can't resist you. Meet me in the garden shed.' Oh, I knew it," She smiles, thinking that it's Ulrich. She places her phone into her bag, putting on her perfume. She admires herself in the mirror before leaving.
On Lyoko in the desert sector, pulsations occur while leading to a red tower on a plateau. Voices can be heard from the inside.
"Do you read me? I repeat, do you read me? What's going on, I can't contact any engrams."
"Hey, the traffic lights are all blocked. The city's gonna be a total grimlock! The subway trains aren't stopping anywhere. What's going on?"
"I don't know, but I've got a sort of eye on the monitor," Someone reports while looking at the maps for the local trains. "The train switches aren't responding. The trains are out of control!" While they try to make sense of everything, XANA's eye symbol is flashing on the computers.
The tracks then start to switch all on their own. "Have you contacted the conductors?"
"Most of them," A train switches course, filled with a bunch of chemicals. "The problem is that trains 3611 and 9432 are completely automatic. And on a collision course, and I can't stop them!"
"They're freight trains, no passengers. How long before they collide?" The second train also switches tracks thanks to XANA.
"26 minutes, but the 3611 is a special convoy train carrying a load of highly toxic chemicals!"
Jeremy is still with Yumi while trying to finish his new program. "One last adjustment, and the program should be ready," He types in the final key. "There we go. Now there's nothing left to do but wait until XANA rears his evil head." A news report about the two trains appears less than 30 seconds later on his screen.
"A mysterious and powerful virus infected all the country's main computer systems just a few minutes ago," Yumi and Jeremy look at each other knowingly as they only know one 'virus' responsible for this. "The infrastructures affected are very numerous and vital. They include communication, banking, all subway systems, and air traffic control. The most imminent danger, however, is the probability of a major train crash. For more information, here's John Swamp."
"Uh, thank you, Ellen," He's near the scene of some tracks. "That's right, two freight trains are on a collision course and one of the trains is carrying highly toxic chemicals, which if spread into the atmosphere, would cause an unprecedented environmental catastrophe."
And unfortunately, there seems to be no manual way of preventing it as they're still headed for each other.
"John, is there any way of preventing this disaster?"
"None at all, for the simple reason that the trains are both computer operated and therefore impossible to control at this time. It'll take a miracle to stop them. If the authorities are considering an evacuation of the local population-" Jeremy turns it off at the point, glancing up at Yumi.
"You try to warn Odd, Amy, and Ulrich. I'll head over to the lab to contact Aelita and prepare the transfers," He orders the Japanese girl.
Ulrich peeks out of the bushes that look out to the garden shed, Amy and Odd popping up next to him. They watch as Sissi is already on her way. Ulrich's phone then buzzes and he looks at it. "Yumi's trying to reach us, she's gonna blow our cover."
"Gotcha. I'll shut off my cell phone," Odd turns off his and Amy pulls hers out.
"Whatever it is, we'll get back to her later," She shuts hers off as well.
Yumi paces in her room while still in Jeremy's room. "What's going on with them? Come on, one of you has gotta be able to answer!"
Sissi arrives at the shed and checks around to make sure no one, especially Jim, is around. She then opens the door. "I'm here, Ulrich!" Her eyes widen as Kiwi and Kiki jump towards her. She yelps as they tackle her to the ground, starting to lick her face. She sits up and wipes off her cheek in disgust. "Oh, what is going on around here?"
She hears snickering, looking up to see the trio. "Irresistible Sissi."
"You're right, not even dogs can resist your charms," Ulrich chuckles at her.
"But real guys? Nah, they could care less!" Amy laughs, hugging her stomach.
"Hey, don't knock it, guys. This is a step up, huh? Because...Herb and Nicolas are no match for Kiwi and Kiki," He then laughs, petting his knees. "Sorry to drag you away, guys."
"We'll take you back now," Amy bends down to wave her dog over. Kiwi walks over as Kiki barks, rushing over and jumping happily into her owner's arms. Sissi looks up at them.
"You'll pay for this!" She declares in anger.
"That's okay, as soon as you're all dry, send us the bill. Ciao!" Odd giggles slightly as they all leave. Sissi stands up, growling as she clenches her fists. Odd turns around while Amy puts down her dog gently. "Kiwi, go home now," He points to the dorms. "Come on, go home boy."
"Kiki, you too. Back to my room." Kiki whines as she wags her tail, looking up at Amy. "I'll play with you later, I promise," She smiles at her dog. "If you want, you can go over and play with Kiwi, if that's okay with you," She glances up at Odd, who nods in agreement with a smile. Kiki leaves with Kiwi after a few seconds.
"That's it," Odd encourages the dogs.
"It's a shame we didn't take a picture," Ulrich comments as they walk away.
"Yeah, imagine the headline in Milly and Tamiya's newspaper. Sissi and Kiwi, an impossible romance!" The three giggle and Sissi glares at them. It's then that she realizes the interactions between the dogs and owners.
"Ugh, I seem to recall a school rule that says 'pets are strictly forbidden on campus.' Rules are made to be obeyed!"
The trains are still going as Jeremy runs down the tunnel from the boiler room. When he gets to the sewers, he grabs his scooter. He rides down the tunnel and makes it to the factory elevator. He pushes the button to go down. The boy then appears in the lab and the doors close behind him. He gets into his chair and gets to work.
"Aelita, do you read me?"
She appears on the screen. "Yes. I was working on your latest materialization program."
"Forget it for now, there's no time. We've got a big problem. XANA has launched an attack. Have you noticed anything?" He informs the virtual girl.
"No, but I'll go have a look around," She responds and then he calls Yumi.
"Yumi, were you able to contact them?"
"No, they've shut their mobiles off. I'm out looking for them," She reports and opens the door to their room. She doesn't see them at all. "Where in the world can they be?" She leaves to go check Amy's room, Kiwi and Kiki trotting into the hallway. Sissi follows after them, peeking in to see Kiwi jumping into Odd's drawer. Kiki waves her tail, barking as she jumps up and down. Sissi walks over and Kiki looks up, barking at her. Sissi then closes the drawer on Kiwi, making him whimper.
"That's it, go beddy-bye now, you horrible little mongrel."
Kiki continues barking until Sissi holds out a chew toy from the ground. "That's right, you too." She holds it up and Kiki jumps, not noticing Sissi open another drawer. She tosses the toy in there and Kiki goes in, Sissi closing her in too.
Odd, Amy, and Ulrich are sitting on a bench as Yumi approaches them. "Oh, Yumi, you got here too late. You missed a great show," Ulrich starts off with a smile.
"Sissi's got herself a boyfriend, although boy's not exactly the right word. Anyway, they're in love," Odd chuckles at his partners in crime.
"Yeah, we laid witness to a budding relationship," Amy laughs as if she could, she'd make a photo album just to get on Sissi's nerves more.
"Hey, I've been trying to reach you for 15 minutes. Thanks guys," She retorts as Ulrich is baffled. "XANA has just launched an attack."
Meanwhile, the trains are in close proximity of each other.
"Okay, I read you, it's urgent," Ulrich tries to calm her down.
"We shut off our phones so that Sissi wouldn't hear us-"
"HEY, you there!" Jim's loud shouting interrupts Amy and she flinches in alarm. Ulrich turns around to see Jim holding onto the two dogs...with Sissi in tow.
"Oh no, no, no, as if we didn't have enough problems!" Odd facepalms in disbelief once he sees them, Amy standing up in alarm.
"Sissi told on us?!" She hisses in anger, gritting her teeth.
"So, it seems you two forgot the rules here at school, huh? Pets are not allowed!"
"Yeah, we know that, Jim, but...you're not gonna make a big deal out of two little dogs, are you?" Odd asks nervously and Amy winces at the question, wondering if he even knows Jim right now.
"Really?" She whispers to him.
"That's for the principal to decide, follow me!" He grabs Odd by the back of the shirt and then gives Kiki to Amy. He grabs her shoulder and pushes her away. The girl glances back at her friends in worry. Sissi gives a smug look at Yumi and Ulrich, looking proud of what she did.
"You're even a worse pain in the neck than I thought!" Ulrich glares at the girl, and she winks as she silently walks away. "How could she do such a thing?" He growls out, angry that she ratted out their friends.
"She got her revenge, but we can't worry about it now, there's no time. Come on, there are too many lives at stake," Yumi tells him and they leave.
Jeremy is watching an update about the trains. "The situation remains unchanged. The two freight trains are completely out of control. Army units have begun to evacuate the people in the immediate area. Now for other news around the country, the capital is in a state of total gridlock," As she speaks, Ulrich and Yumi running across the bridge. "Huge traffic jams are creating chaos and the police are totally swamped and unable to help." Yumi and Ulrich head down the elevator. "And since all alarm systems are down, there's a tremendous amount of polluting."
"Got anything new, Aelita?" He wonders while getting back in contact with her. She reappears on the screen.
"Yes, I do, Jeremy. I've picked up pulsations and it seems that...the activated tower is in the desert. I'm on my way." Jeremy looks back as his two friends arrive.
"Hey, where's Amy and Odd?" He wonders why half of them aren't there.
"They're in the principal's office cause Jim found out about Kiki and Kiwi," Yumi explains, and she was hiding the fact that she's unhappy about it. But there was nothing they could do to convince Jim to let them out. At least, not without getting in trouble themselves. Jeremy raises a brow in confusion over the first name. "Oh, Kiki is Amy's dog. Seems like she couldn't part with her pet either," She smiles in amusement at the similarities between her and Odd.
"Okay you two, get ready for immediate departure," He informs and they head for the scanners.
Jim opens the door to a classroom, letting both the two friends and their dogs in. He slams the door behind him and Odd looks back. "Do we really have to stay here?" He tries once again to appeal to the gym teacher. "Don't be like that, come on, Jim. At least let Ames go, it's her first offense and you know it," He gives a pleading look, Amy doing a double take at him.
"You both heard the principal, you've both gotta stay in the study hall until both your parents get here and pick up those mutts!" Amy visibly looks afraid of that statement for some reason. "First offense or not, she still broke the rules just like you," He looks at the dogs, who scratch themselves behind the ears. He points to the seats and they both reluctantly sit down next to each other. Amy looks really nervous as the dogs lay down underneath the desks. "And I'm gonna stay here and keep an eye on you two!"
Jeremy starts the procedure for the duo, Ulrich stepping into a scanner first. The doors close in front of him. "Transfer Ulrich." Yumi follows into a scanner next. "Transfer Yumi." Her hair lifts up, her eyes closed as the process starts. "Scanner Ulrich. Scanner Yumi. Virtualization."
The flash occurs as both of them appear in the desert sector. Ulrich lands first, followed by Yumi as they scope around for Aelita. "Everything's cool, Jeremy," Yumi reports to him. "The transfer was successful, no problem. And Aelita's here," She can see the virtual girl standing a few feet away.
"Okay, great. And...no monsters in sight," However, Jeremy is a bit hesitant at that fact, since he knows XANA would have something up his sleeve...or hardware, however that works.
"Any news from Odd or Amy?" Ulrich asks the blond boy.
"No, not yet. I'll try to contact them," He replies back to the brunet.
Odd taps his foot impatiently while Jim...is asleep. And while that might be a good opportunity to just leave, he'd probably wake up and notice them. Jim can be very alert when he's asleep, so they couldn't risk it. Odd taps his fingers against the desk, Amy looking away at the window with her fist to her cheek. He glances up at the girl, noticing that she looks upset as he leans in towards her ear.
"I'm so sorry I got you into this mess, Ames," He whispers, wondering what was going on with her.
"It's okay. At least you stood up for me with Jim earlier," She gives him a small grateful smile.
"Of course! I wouldn't leave my favorite girl hanging," He nudges her arm and the girl rolls her eyes in amusement. Both of their phones ring at the same time, getting their attention. They look at the screens to see the same message: 'S.O.S. XANA, J.' "Huh? Well, what do you know?"
"Huh?" Jim snaps awake as he could hear Odd. "What'd you say?"
"Uh, nothing, nothing. We, uh...we have to go outside for a minute. Dogs have, well, they have certain needs, if you know what I mean," Odd lies to try to get them to escape. Even though the dogs don't really need to go.
"Hmm," He thinks it over as he looks at the dogs. "Forget it. What they need is to get some sleep," He then crosses his arms and goes back to sleep himself. Odd sighs in dismay, his hands on his cheeks.
"Dang it," Amy mutters bitterly at this, slamming a quiet fist to her desk. "Now what?"
"I'll think of something else, don't you worry. But is something wrong?" He turns to her as she falters, moving her fist away silently as she doesn't respond. "You've been sulking ever since we've been in here," He tells her in concern and she bites her lip. She lets out a huge sigh. She didn't even wanna bring it up, but she could tell that Odd genuinely wanted to know...plus it feels like she could trust him, let out her feelings about it to him. And she hasn't felt that with anyone else, not even the rest of their friends for some reason. Maybe it's because he just feels more reliable right now than ever.
"Well..." She glances away briefly. "It's just that...Jim doesn't know, but remember when I said my family situation is complicated?" He nods silently and she looks away, sighing. "It's because...well, my parents are...in the middle of getting a divorce."
"What?" His eyes widen as he registers that in his mind.
Ulrich, Aelita, and Yumi follow the pulsations and Aelita stops first, pointing up ahead. "The tower is there," The tower is past a field of rocks. Rocks that might carry monsters as they haven't seen a single one.
"That's too easy," Yumi looks behind her, seeing nothing.
"Yeah, looks like a real XANA trap," Ulrich is on the same page as her. Mainly because XANA would never let them make it this far. "Hey Jeremy, do you see anything on your screen?"
"No, nothing. Not even a single monster," Jeremy reports back, on the same line of thinking as the two.
Jim looks up from a magazine, eyeing the two suspiciously. Odd looks to his right in boredom while Amy sighs, slowly sinking in her chair. He glances at her, as both of them have stayed silent ever since she told him about her parents. His eyes soften as until now, he had never known anyone whose parents were in the middle of a divorce. And he got the impression that she's had to shoulder that alone...well, not entirely alone, she has her dog. But the fact that he's the first one she's ever told really paints to him what it must've been like during the holiday...
He leans down towards the dogs as he gets an idea. "Hey, Kiwi, Kiki, wake up, wake up. Want a biscuit?" Amy glances to him in confusion as the dogs look up at him. "A nice big doggie biscuit, huh?"
They start barking excitedly over it, annoying Jim. "Hey, what's the matter with 'em?"
"We warned you if we don't take 'em out for a walk, you're gonna have some mopping up to do," Odd points at the man. Amy sits up in alarm as she realizes what he's getting at.
"Uh, that's right! And you don't wanna have to explain to Mr. Delmas you let that happen on your watch, do you?" She leans back against her chair, raising a brow.
"You think I'm stupid, huh? Soon as you're outside, you'll take off, right?" Jim gets out of his seat, walking around the desk.
"Us? We wouldn't do that, Jim," Odd laughs it off.
"Honest," Amy nods rapidly, hoping they'll believe them.
"Okay now, stop. You can't pull that one on me. I'm gonna take the dogs out myself and you're both gonna stay put and not move, you got that? I know you're a good student, Amelia, but this one will try anything," He points down at Odd. "Don't let his 'charms' get to you just because he's your boyfriend," He opens the door, letting the dogs out as they're both bewildered at that last part.
"What?!" She stands up in alarm. "He's not my-!" He closes the door before she can finish. She slowly glances down at Odd, who's already looking at her. Both of them then look away awkwardly after they realize that they're staring at each other. She has a blush on her face, and Odd's cheeks are bit red himself.
"Heh," He rubs his neck anxiously. The fact that Jim said as such and that she wasn't able to correct them makes things suddenly shift in the air between them. "W-Well...that...I, uh..."
"Yeah..." She murmurs, brushing a bang behind her ear. She then clears her throat. "Odd, you're my best friend. I honestly don't know where he got that from."
"And you're mine. Is it wrong for a guy to wanna spend time with his best friend, boy or girl?" He defends playfully and she chuckles down at him.
"No."
"So we're good, right?" He smiles up at her.
"Yeah, we're good," She winks down at Odd, relieved that the awkward tension is over.
"By the way...I'm sorry about your parents, Ames. I didn't realize you were going through that..." He couldn't even imagine himself or their friends going through what she's experienced.
"Only the principal knows about it. But for years, as the only child, I have to deal with the bickering, the tense parent-teacher conferences, the non-stop jabs. And sometimes I have to get involved just to get them to stop being at each other's throats. Out of the both of them my dad is...much harder to get along with more than my mom about it," She rubs a temple as she has to be like a mature adult, the opposite of them when they fight. "I'll go into more another day, but please don't tell anyone until I'm ready, okay?"
"It'll be our little secret," He grins, holding up his pinky. She stares at it silently. "Come on, Ames, don't you trust me?"
She slowly smiles as she believes that he won't say a word. This was something she has to tell the others on her own time and terms. She locks his pinky with his. "I trust you."
"Now come on. We have a job to do," He says in determination.
One of the trains passes a station, while the one with the chemicals is passing through a railroad.
"14 minutes. Just 14 minutes left before the two trains collide with each other," Jeremy glances to the screen of Lyoko as monsters have now appeared, four of them. "Remember that one of the-"
"Alert!" He warns his friends immediately. "You're surrounded by four monsters!"
Before they can continue forward, Ulrich raises an arm in front of Yumi. He stares straight up ahead, keeping a look out. The area is still deserted, but the monsters could be anywhere. He pulls out his sword a bit. "Where are they? I don't see any monsters."
Lasers suddenly hit all of them at least once before seeing the attackers: four Bloks. The three stare them down before Ulrich pulls out his sword completely. The Blok approaches him and fires. He deflects them with his weapon. Yumi pulls out her fan as Aelita backs away a bit. She throws it at a Blok, but it tilts its head out of the way from the fan.
"Yumi, Ulrich, get out of there now! You're losing too many life points!" Jeremy warns since if they're both devirtualized, Aelita will be left all alone.
"Great idea, only how do you suggest we do it? Sprout wings, huh? If only Amy was here," Ulrich retorts back from the screen.
"There are a lot of rocks on your right. Try and lose them in there," Jeremy tells them, indicating the bunch of rocks near the activated tower. Ulrich stares down the Bloks while holding in his sword ready. He glances around as the Bloks get closer.
"Yumi, take Aelita away with you. I'll handle them."
"But, Ulrich-!" Yumi tries to protest, as even with three to four, he still has a chance of being devirtualized.
"Don't argue, run!" He interrupts her and takes a deep breath while holding up his sword. He jumps up into the air to form two other clones. "Triplicate!" They land in front of the Bloks. "Go!" He tells the girls again and they take off running. The Bloks immediately start firing, and Ulrich turns his attention back to the monsters. He then rushes forward and jumps up into the air. "Impact!" He stabs one in the eye, jumping back onto the ground as it explodes. The rest, however, fire and destroy his clones.
Jim puts the dogs on leashes, walking them to the park. The dogs start sniffing a tree, but don't seem interested in doing their business. "Well? Are you gonna do it or not?"
Kiki walks over to a bush, sniffing while Milly and Tamiya walk by. "How you doing, Jim? Walking your widdle doggies?" She teases, the two giggling as they leave. He glances back in annoyance, a little embarrassed at this now.
"Okay, you had your chances, we're going back now," He pulls them away and they struggle the whole time, not wanting to go back. As soon as he opens the door, he notices that one of the windows is wide open, Amy and Odd nowhere to be seen. "I don't believe it!" He then turns around to see the dogs peeing on the wall. "Aw no!"
Odd and Amy grab their vehicles, riding through the sewers side by side. Odd then helps her out of the hatch, both of them running down the bridge. They then make it to the lab.
"Hey, did we miss the party?" They walk up to Jeremy.
"Sorry Jeremy, Jim's a hard sell to convince, so we tricked 'im," Amy smirks a bit. It's not gonna matter anyway since they'll go back in time.
"I guess you could say a party. Ulrich has the grand total of 10 life points left," Jeremy gives them the lay down.
"What about the trains?" Odd turns to him curiously, Amy biting her lip nervously.
Jeremy types in some keys to give a quick check. "8 minutes to impact. Better get a move on."
"Right," Amy nods and they run for the scanner room.
Meanwhile, back on Lyoko, Ulrich runs off from the lasers as the Bloks continue firing. He makes it to the rock field, turning around and jumping to the left. He then rushes forward and jumps up into the air. "Impact!" He stabs another Blok in the eye, jumping off and landing on another one. He manages to get that one as well, jumping to land safely. He brings his sword in front of him as the last Blok approaches. And before Ulrich can do anything, a blue laser is fired at him, causing his body to freeze. Once the ice breaks off, he's immediately devirtualized. The Blok starts crawling over to the girls, preparing to fire.
"Run!" Yumi shouts as they make a break for the rock field.
The trains get closer and closer on opposite paths.
Odd and Amy stand in front of a scanner. Amy steps in first, and then Odd follows. Both of them turn around as the doors close. "Transfer Amy. Transfer Odd." Both of them close their eyes and spin around. "Scanner Amy. Scanner Odd. Virtualization."
They virtualize, both of them landing on the same rock. Odd jumps off as Amy takes flight. The Blok is still chasing Aelita and Yumi. The monster starts powering up and fires a laser. Yumi glances back and jumps forward, pushing Aelita out of the way from one. They look up to see the Blok approaching them from a distance. Yumi then sits up, pressing her hands to her head.
"Telekinesis," She lifts up one of the rocks, Aelita gasping as the Blok is walking to them. Yumi struggles to keep up the rock, because using her telekinesis for too long weakens her. She drops the rock over the monster and destroys it to bits, pumping a fist.
"The coast is clear," She's suddenly hit from a bigger laser. She lands in front of Aelita and devirtualizes.
"Oh no, oh no!" Aelita panics as a megatank rolls in front of her, opening itself up. "Jeremy, help!"
"Hang on, Amy and Odd are on the way," He reports as he can still see them on his screen.
The megatank closes itself and she runs, the monster rolling after her. Odd is perched up on a rock while Amy flies above him. They keep an eye on Aelita and the megatank, Odd jumping across the rocks. Amy soars over to be above Aelita. He lands as she makes it to the tower, seeing the megatank roll by. The two stare at the monster, waiting for it to make a move.
The elevator opens to reveal Yumi. "Welcome back to our world, Yumi," Jeremy calls out to her.
"I'm sorry, I did what I could," She says in exhaustion as she joins him and Ulrich.
Odd takes off running while Amy spins around to land in front of Aelita. She holds out an arm in front of the girl. "Amy!" Aelita cries out in relief. The megatank immediately opens up and Amy pushes her out the way, jumping to the left. Luckily, both make it out unscathed, but Amy lands too far away from Aelita. Aelita then stares down the monster, both her ID card and the megatank's appearing on the computer screen.
"Aelita, you're crazy!" Yumi exclaims in disbelief.
"What are you doing?! Get out of there now!" Ulrich shouts in a panic.
She brings her hands together, kneeling down. She starts singing, using her creativity to make a ridge appear. The megatank then rolls above her head, landing on the other side.
"Yes!" Ulrich cheers, pumping a fist.
"I was sure she would do that," Jeremy states with a relieved smile. Ulrich and Yumi chuckle at him.
Odd runs over to Amy first, helping her up. "Good job, Aelita," She smiles at the girl as she rushes for the tower. Both of them focus on the monster, which turns over to them. It opens up and they glance at Aelita, realizing where it's aiming at. It powers, Aelita continuing to run. Odd runs over as Amy starts flying, both of them heading for the pink-haired girl. The laser fires and Amy reaches out her hands to Odd. However, he jumps up behind Aelita, spinning upwards to kick Amy with his legs out of the laser's range. He then takes the hit, landing on the ground.
"Odd!" Amy shouts once she balances herself, turning to the monster. She aims her hand at it at the same time that Odd raises his fist.
"Sand Sphere!" She calls out while an orb made out of sand shoots out from her hands.
"Laser Arrow!"
Odd's arrow is in front of Amy's sand sphere, and they merge with each other, with the arrow inside of the sphere. They both hit the monster and it explodes into sand. Amy flaps her wings in front of Odd and drops them so that she's back on solid ground. "Are you okay?!" She asks in concern as she bends down to him. She holds him up gently by the waist and pulls him onto her lap.
"I'm just fine, Ames," He smiles up at her and she chuckles.
"You're never doing that again," She tells him in amusement.
"That I can't promise, but I'll try," He winks up at her.
The two trains go faster and Aelita enters the tower.
The two trains are in close proximity while Aelita floats up to the top.
Jeremy, Ulrich, and Yumi watch intensely as they watch the video feed of the tracks.
Aelita lands on the upper pad, walking up while the interface appears. She presses her hand onto it.
Aelita
Code
The two trains come at least 200 feet away from each other, the trio gasping sharply.
Lyoko
The two trains stop just within a few feet of each other, very close to touching.
"Yeah!" Jeremy cheers as they look relieved.
"Yeah, just in time," Ulrich says as the tower deactivates. A time reversion is launched as Jeremy presses the key.
"Return to the past now!"
Sissi walks to the shed, being told to go there just like last time. She looks around again and opens it. "Alone at last, Ulrich. Just the two of us," She opens it fully with a smile, but is shocked to see not the dogs, but Herb. He tackles her onto the ground. "Herb, what the-"
"Sissi, I love you too," He leans in to kiss her, but she stops him, shocked.
"You what?!"
A flash occurs, thanks to Odd taking a picture. This time, everyone is watching from the bushes.
"Cut it out, are you out of your mind or what?!" Sissi shouts as she pushes Herb off her.
"But I got your text message. 'Meet me at the garden shed. I love you, Sissi'," He explains to her from the ground. Odd hands Ulrich the photo.
"We're gonna give Milly and Tamiya a real scoop. Guess who's gonna make the front page of the next school paper!" He smiles down at it, all of them undetected by the two.
"Just keep dreaming, you creep!" Sissi warns him angrily. "In the meantime, you've got some explaining to do when my father hears about this!" She storms off towards his office.
"Hey Sissi, wait a second!" Herb rushes after her.
"That's really such a shame, we've just seen the beginning and end of a beautiful romance!" Yumi jokes and they all laugh. She smiles at Ulrich, who returns it. How could she ever think he liked Sissi? At least it was past her now. Plus this way, Amy and Odd don't risk getting into trouble by letting Sissi know about their dogs.
"Serves her right for telling Jim about our dogs!" Amy high-fives Odd and he smiles at her, and she hums happily. Jeremy, Yumi, and Ulrich all smile smugly unknown to the two.
Amy and Odd might not see it, but they do.